Corsair Launches a Bevy of New Products at CES

CES always brings with a smattering of new products from virtually every company there is so something is sure to appeal to you. One of the most important decisions you can make when building a new computer is just exactly what case every component will be housed in. Corsair entered the computer case business a while back with its hugely popular 800D and then expanded on that with the 700D and 600T. Now, Corsair is getting set to launch the newest case, the 650D. Like the 800D and 700D, the 650D fits into the Obsidian line and brings many of its features to a much smaller package. The 650D features an innovative cable routing system, room for a water cooling system, and space for virtually any component you wish to install. To top it off, the 650D includes a windowed side panel, 200mm front and top fans with external controls, eight PCI expansion slots, room for a 1x120 and 2x120 radiator, and even a SATA 6Gbps hot-swap dock. Internally there is a generously sized socket cutout and tool-free 5.25" and 3.5" bays. Corsair even has support for SSDs included into the 3.5" bays so you are going to be future proofed with the 650D. Of course, there is enough room inside for even the largest of video cards so pretty much everything has been thought of with this case.

Next up is an addition to the Graphite series of cases, though this time it is a special edition white 600T. It is identical to the standard 600T except the exterior is painted a brilliant shade of white with black accents. The interior is entirely black so you get a good balance between the two colors and is sure to impress anyone who sees it. Like I said, it is identical to the 600T so you are getting everything that case offers, just in a new coat of paint.

Corsair is also adding on to its headset series with the HS1A gaming headset. The HS1A is similar to the HS1 USB gaming headset, though this time the connection is of the analog variety. This means the HS1A will be able to be used with your own sound cards instead of relying on the USB audio. The HS1A features the same design as the USB version, which includes memory foam earcups, 50mm drivers, and a high-quality microphone, just this time it terminates in to two 3.5mm analog connections. It will be interesting to see how well the HS1A does compared to its USB version, but I suspect it will still sound great depending on what sound card you are using.

Keeping up with the audio side is the addition of two new speaker systems designed with gamers in mind. The SP2500 delivers high-powered 2.1 audio while the SP2200 delivers 2.1 audio at an affordable price. The SP2500 features bi-amplified two-way satellites with 1" ferro-cooled silk dome tweeters and 3" midrange drivers, plus there is an 8" subwoofer with a fourth-order bandpass enclosure to ensure your audio is as crystal clear as possible. All told, the SP2500 can deliver up to 230 watts RMS of output power which pretty much means you better be good friends with your neighbors before cranking this system. There is a wired remote for the SP2500 that features an LCD display to put you in complete control of the audio. If that much power isn't quite your thing, then perhaps the SP2200 is your system. The SP2200 is rated at only 46 watts RMS of output power so it should be a lot easier on your neighbors. It features two satellites with 2" full-range drives and a 6" ported subwoofer. The controls for the SP2200 are integrated onto the right satellite. Both features 3.5mm connections as well as a headphone out and Aux-In ports.

Now, we come to what Corsair is most famous for, memory. This comes both in the form of Corsair Vengeance DDR3 kits optimized for the Intel Sandy Bridge platform as well as a new solid state drive series. The RAM features Intel XMP profiles and a low 1.5V VDIMM voltage. The SSD series is the Performance 3 Series which is based on the Marvell 9174 controller. These new SSDs will work on the SATA 6Gbps connection and include support for TRIM. Maximum read speeds will be 480MB/second while write speeds will reach 320MB/s.

Lastly, Corsair is updating its CPU cooler line to include support for Intel's 1155 socket. The Air Series A50 and A70 will get updates to include the new socket, plus the Hydro Series H50 and H70 will as well. There is even mention of the new H60 cooler having socket 1155 support, but information is fairly sparse on this for right now.

The Corsair 650D case will be launching this April for $199.99. Both the Corsair 600T special edition white case and the HS1A gaming headset will be available later this month, with the 600T costing $159.99 and the HS1A costing $79.99. The Corsair SP2500 will be launching later this month while the SP2200 will be launching in the first quarter of this year. The SP2500 will run you $249.99 while the SP2200 will only be $99.99. All five products will come with a two year warranty. The Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM is available in capacities from 4 to 16GB and should be available now and feature a lifetime warranty. The Corsair Performance 3 Series SSDs will be available later this month.